Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue IV, 2015 | Page 57

Branching Out
Ahead of its time
No longer a trend solely for emerging
culinary businesses, food trucks also have
given brands countless ways to market,
reach new customers, test products and
trends, and scout geographic areas for future expansion. Service and retail brands
are also hitting the road to bring products and business solutions directly to
the customer.
Screenmobile started in 1980 when
the brand’s founders converted a used tent
trailer into “The Screenmobile” (which of
course doubled as a mobile advertising
vehicle). The 35-year-old brand’s mobile
business model was an early sign of things
to come. Today, with 91 locations in 25
states, the franchise is the nation’s largest
mobile screen repair company specializing
in the repair, replacement, and installation
of window, door, and patio porch screens,
and solar shading products.
Each trailer, truck, or van typically
serves eight customers a day, says Arizona
franchisee Jeff Ballantyne, with an average ticket of $370. Ballantyne, who has
four territories, three in Tuscon and one
in Phoenix’s East Valley, is one of only a
handful of Screenmobile franchisees with a
storefront location. (The brand is marketed
to potential franchisees as a home-based
business.) His centrally located 2,200-s.f.
site housing his trucks an